2020 Has Had The Gloomiest January Since The Early 1960s

If you think this January has been especially gloomy, you aren't wrong!

According to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, this January in particular has had "the least amount of solar radiation for a January since solar radiation records began at the U of M St. Paul Campus Climate Observatory in 1963." Yikes!

The last week has been especially gloomy, with seven consecutive days of cloud cover, ranging from January 22nd through the 28th. This hasn't happened since October of 2018.

In case you're curious, it could be worse! The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says the longest we've gone without sunshine is a fifteen day stretch in late October / early November of 1972.

It doesn't help that we've seen a bunch of snow, either. As of the end of January, we've seen about 73 inches of snow and counting. That's not too far off from our seasonal average either. We will have to wait and see what February holds!